Saving a cool billion

Robert Lutz says General Motors will cut $1 billion from the costs of developing its next generation of mid-sized cars. Those cars include the Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Malibu, Saab 9-3 and upcoming Saturn Aura.

GM's vice chairman says the key is globalizing product development. That will help cut engineering and tooling costs by 25 percent from today's levels, he said.

But Lutz, who spoke at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit last week, says he also expects GM to pay about 20 percent less for the parts it uses in those cars.